The Daily Fuckup

Trump’s latest tariff fight is now where much of this trade policy has ended up: in court, with the government still collecting duties for the moment but not yet out of danger.

On May 7, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the administration’s 10% global tariff was unlawful. The court said the duties, imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, could not stand as written. In the same decision, the court entered relief for the importer plaintiffs and Washington state, while dismissing other state plaintiffs for lack of standing.

The timeline matters. The administration imposed the 10% global tariff on Feb. 20, 2026, after earlier tariff litigation setbacks had already narrowed the president’s room to maneuver. The May 7 ruling did not revisit the older tariff program; it targeted the replacement tariff itself.

For now, the ruling is not the last word. On May 12, the Federal Circuit issued an administrative stay, which temporarily preserved collection of the tariffs while the government’s appeal moves forward. That stay did not erase the trade court’s decision. It simply put the order on hold while the case is reviewed.

The practical effect is a familiar one: the policy is still alive, but only provisionally. The administration keeps its tariff revenue for now. The plaintiffs keep their win. And the legal question that drove the case remains unresolved heading into the next round of appeals.